Flames, Oilers Ignite Northwest

By Chad Klassen
Love of Sports Correspondent

The Northwest Division will be a tough to gauge how it’ll exactly play out, remaining the most closely-contested division in the NHL.

While it isn’t necessarily stacked with the best teams, there’s parity among each of the five teams, which often battle one another until the last weekend for the division crown.

Any one of the five teams could emerge and win the division, but here’s a gut prediction on how it’ll all breakdown.

Northwest Division Preview

Calgary Flames
Record: 44-29-9
Division: 1st
Conference: 3rd

The Flames were on the verge of upsetting San Jose last April, eventually losing to the Sharks in Game 7 of the quarterfinal series and ending yet another underachieving year. In a relatively weak division, Calgary will build on the confidence it gained from that playoff experience.

They dramatically improved on their horrendous road record from two seasons ago, posting a 21-19-1 mark last year under new bench boss Mike Keenan. However, it is captain Jarome Iginla who’s run the ship and has been the team’s heart and soul during his 12 seasons in Calgary. He will again lead the charge offensively for the Flames. The NHL scoring leader from 2002 is looking to equal his second 50-goal season from last year and will lead his team to glory in the postseason.

The team took a fairly big blow in the offseason losing Kristian Huselius, who was always a scoring threat, but got another capable threat in Mike Cammalleri through a draft-day trade with L.A. On a terrible Kings team, Cammalleri netted 19 goals and 47 points, but will likely play alongside Iginla on the Flames top line, where his production’s bound to increase.

Defensively, they possess a half-decent defense. Despite coughing up a few soft goals last season, and during this preseason, Miikka Kiprusoff should provide solid goaltending between the pipes and help the Flames win the always tight one-goal games in the Northwest. Robyn Regehr and the hard-hitting Dion Phaneuf are shutdown defenders on the back end.

Prediction: The Flames are a balanced team that will roll early with a generally favorable schedule and lead the division for most of the season, eventually staking claim to the title they last held in 2005-06.

Edmonton Oilers
Record: 44-33-5
Division: 2nd
Conference: 7th

The Oilers missed the playoffs for the second straight year, but they made a playoff push in the last couple months and will continue that momentum into 2008-09.

One of the bright spots was the unbelievably talented rookie Sam Gagner, who put together enough highlights to produce a feature film – especially in the shootouts with his dazzling stick work. He and captain Shawn Horcoff helped the Oilers post double-digit victories in the one-on-one showdown. With a year under his belt, Gagner will only get better and build on his 13-goal, 49-point rookie season. Look for him to contribute more offensively in his sophomore year.

Another second-year forward that will undoubtedly pick up the slack in the scoring department is Andrew Cogliano. The 25th overall pick in 2005 made history last year in notching three straight game-winning goals for Edmonton – performances that foreshadows his potential as a franchise player. Ales Hemsky hit the 20-goal mark for the first time in his NHL career, but the pass-happy winger tends to set up guys.

A major offseason acquisition that will boost the Oilers offensive attack was Erik Cole, who was traded from Carolina. Cole scored 22 goals with the Hurricanes a year ago and has recorded a career-high of 30, so he will absolutely lift Edmonton’s scoring threat, which was seriously lacking last year. Given the Cole trade, and the development of some young players, Edmonton’s shouldn’t have too many problems offensively, especially with its top two lines.

The problem that might halt the Oilers from taking that playoff spot is goaltending and defense. Lowe partially addressed defense in the offseason by trading for defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky from the Kings. He and Sheldon Souray will be the rock on the back end, but the prospects of that dynamic duo will on hinge on Souray’s durability. He failed to stay healthy in his first year in Edmonton and the team suffered significantly as a result in its defensive zone. Goaltending also remains a weakness. Dwayne Roloson was a big reason the Oilers were a win away from hoisting the Stanley Cup, but he’s since given up his fair share of weak goals. The opening day starter, though, will be Mathieu Garon.

Prediction: The Oilers have developed a threatening offensive attack, boosted by the pickup of Cole, and this might be the year for Edmonton. Goaltending and a relatively weak defense could hurt the team, but the firepower will make up for it.

Vancouver Canucks
Record: 42-33-7
Division: 3rd
Conference: 9th

The big news in Vancouver, or lack thereof, was the possible signing of Mats Sundin that never came to fruition. The Canucks offered the big center $20 million over two years, but the Swede didn’t bite. For the diehard fans, it was disappointing not to land Sundin, but considering the 6-0-1 preseason record, there might be a ray of hope. 

Not surprisingly, the team will be in tough to put the puck in the net. As much as Markus Naslund’s on-ice play and commitment was questioned for most of last year, he posted a 25-goal season, and the Canucks didn’t truly replace that kind of production in the offseason. They signed Pavol Demitra and the 15 goals he scored last year, as well as the underachieving Steve Bernier, who hasn’t really live up to his 16th overall selection in the 2003 NHL Draft. The team does have Ryan Kesler, who’s emerging as a great two-way player and has scoring potential reflecting on his career-high 21 goals from last year. Taylor Pyatt also needs to play a big role, wanting to repeat his breakout season in 2006-07, when he netted 23 goals mainly alongside Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

But considering Vancouver lost Naslund and Brendan Morrison, who’s generally a 20-goal man when he’s healthy, there’s a big void to fill offensively. Looking at what Demitra and Bernier have done the last couple years, little confidence runs through the city that they can generate the necessary offense to take pressure off one of the best goalies, Roberto Luongo, and the rest of the defensive core. Led by Willie Mitchell and Mattias Ohlund, along with emerging star Alexander Edler, this is a solid group that’s collectively one of the better in the West – that is, when everyone’s healthy. Injuries late in the year (174-man games lost) largely contributed to the Canucks’ seven losses in their last eight contests to miss the playoffs.

Prediction: All the question marks surrounding the Canucks point to a lack of offense. If Demitra and Bernier can fill the net, and the Sedin twins emerged as legitimate top-line players, Vancouver has a good shot at the postseason. While Vancouver will be in the hunt for a playoff spot all season, with Luongo backstopping its chances, scoring could damper all hopes. 

Minnesota Wild
Record: 41-33-8
Division: 4th
Conference: 10th

The defending Northwest Division champs are going to take a step back this season, with the loss of their two top scorers in free agency. Minnesota, already employing a defensive-oriented system under Jacque LeMaire, will struggle in the scoring department minus both Pavol Demitra and Brian Rolston, who combined for 46 goals a year ago.

This franchise has always been underestimated, at times boasting pretty subpar talent over the last five years, yet they still find a way to win hockey games. But there’s no question it’ll be difficult for their leading scorer, Marian Gaborik (42 goals, 41 assists), to carry the load by himself, especially with nagging groin problems. The team certainly worked hard to patch up the losses up front, snatching back former Wild Andrew Brunette and signing Antti Miettinen, two players that accounted for 34 goals and 93 points from last year. Brunette will likely be slotted on the top line and play with Gaborik and setup man Pierre Marc-Bouchard (13 goals, 50 assists). It’s a unit that will provide most of Minnesota’s offensive output, but it might not be nearly enough to replace the value of guys like Demitra and Rolston.

Because the team plays such a defensive style of hockey, it will heavily rely on goaltender Nicholas Backstrom, who has been fantastic in net and stolen more than a few games for the Wild during his two seasons as the No. 1 guy. The defense in front of Backstrom was mildly boosted in the offseason with the acquisition of Marek Zidlicky. He joins Brent Burns and Kim Johnsson as the team’s top blueliners.

Prediction: Minnesota is an extremely well-coach team that conceivably always finds a way to make the playoffs, except this year. While boasting a reliable puck-stopper, scoring is major question mark and will likely break the Wild’s season. 

Colorado Avalanche
Record: 39-32-10
Division: 5th
Conference: 11th

In the last number of years since the lockout, the franchise has gradually fallen down the standings, and while the Avalanche made the postseason two of the last three years, they’re nowhere near the Stanley Cup contenders they once were.

The situation between the pipes is of grave concern to any Avalanche fan, having to depend on either Peter Budaj or free-agent signing Andrew Raycroft to stop the puck. Ironically, after waiting two years for the Jose Theodore trade to pan out, he returned to All-Star form and backstopped Colorado to the playoffs. But Theodore decided to walk and sign in Washington on July 1st, leaving a huge hole in net and challenging the Avalanche to keep the puck out of it.

Now, they’re not as bad a team as we’ve projected them; it’s still a borderline playoff team that’s more than capable offensively. Despite losing a playmaker in Andrew Brunette, it was given a big lift when the Avalanche legend Joe Sakic decided to return for his 20th season. Groin problems forced him to miss 38 games, but he’s back healthy and will bury more big-time goals, which will likely be enough for Colorado to make the playoffs. It was only two years ago that the 13-time All-Star posted 100 points. Skating alongside Sakic on the first line is young superstar Paul Stastny, who emerged last year as a premier scorer and took over as the team’s scoring leader in Sakic’s absence. The Avalanche will heavily rely on these two guys to fill the net with goals, as well as their linemate Ryan Smyth.

Prediction: It’s a good team, but we can’t concede them a playoff spot with the humungous question mark in the net. By all means, if they can get decent goaltending from Budaj and guys like Milan Hejduk and Wojetk Wolski provide secondary scoring to compliment the top line, Colorado will find a way to squeak into the eighth spot.